Shell sponsorship fuels new era for RCR's 29

This week at Daytona International Speedway, there will be plenty of new paint schemes to get used to.

The one that will be the most interesting to see, however, will likely belong to the No. 29 Chevrolet of Kevin Harvick out of the Richard Childress Racing stable.

For the first time since 1987, RCR will travel to the season's biggest race with a car that's not black and doesn't carry that familiar GM Goodwrench logo on the hood.

	BUSINESS NEWS
Send an idea to Ron More business news

The car is now Shell yellow, and the numbers are not silver, they're red.

Shell replaced GM Goodwrench as the No. 29 car's primary sponsor at the end of the 2006 season, and Daytona is the first time anyone will have a chance to watch a new era unfold.

"With the caliber of Shell and the caliber of company that it is, for us to be able to represent them, it's quite an honor," said team owner Richard Childress, who has been a Chevrolet loyalist for his entire career as a driver and car owner. "With Shell's 13,000 stores in the U.S., a lot of the things they are going to do in their activation program are going to help not only RCR and Kevin Harvick; it's going to help NASCAR as a whole."

John Hofmeister, president of Shell Oil Company, was eager to snap up RCR last year when Goodwrench announced it would not be coming back as a primary sponsor.

"When the opportunity presented itself, my conversation with our head of retail was, 'Let's grab this opportunity. This is a chance to really help change the game for Shell in this country by being in the nation's most closely followed sport,'" Hofmeister said. "To be with Richard Childress Racing, which has such a reputation for efficient, effective management and real success, Daytona really kicks it off for us."

Shell made the move back to NASCAR after some stellar success in Formula One racing, with Michael Schumacher and the Ferrari team. The move, Hofmeister said, was a no-brainer. (Continued)